As of October 22nd, 2019, the CASE (Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement) Act officially passed 410-6 in the House of Representatives. If passed by the Senate, this act will ease the financial burden of enforcing ones rights in terms of copyright theft.

Traditionally, when faced with copyright theft and infringement issues, the process involves hiring an attorney and fronting high legal expenses. This process seems unfair, especially if you were the victim of copyright theft in the first place, and often discourages people from fighting for rights they are entitled to. In many cases, the financial burden that comes along with fighting copyright infringement is far too high for the average creative or everyday person. Ideally, the CASE Act would provide a financially practical way to enforce ones rights without having to hire an expensive attorney, especially for independent creators.

According to The Recording Academy, this monumental act is an incredible victory for music creators specifically, following last years passing of the Music Modernization Act. Daryl Friedman, chief industry, government, & member relations officer for the Recording Academy claims that the CASE Act finally gives music makers access to the copyright protection they deserve.

If the CASE Act passes the Senate for final vote, a copyright claims board will be created within the U.S Copyright Office to rule on small claims infringement where damages will be capped at $15,000 per claim and $30,000 total.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/legal-and-management/8539998/case-act-passes-us-house-representatives

https://adage.com/article/digital/youtube-outlaws-insults-based-race-gender-expression-and-sexual-orientation-caveats/2221831

In recent news, Youtube has established new regulations on anti-discriminatory policies, removing videos that imply insulting speech towards sexual orientation and race, the company said on Wednesday.

The Google unit has made efforts to clean its site since executives in the past have been accused of making homophobic remarks in their own videos. Matt Halprin, YouTube’s head of trust and safety, commented on the new changes stating that, “We will no longer allow content that maliciously insults someone based on protected attributes such as their race, gender expression, or sexual orientation,” “This applies to everyone, from private individuals, to YouTube creators, to public officials.” Youtube has since responded by removing ads from videos exhibiting derogatory remarks.

However, there are exceptions to the actions YouTube will abide by going forward. The company stated that videos that include harassment language in specific contexts, such as a documentary or a scripted satire, will not be exempted from the new policies. Additionally, clips featuring or discussing powerful people such as “high-profile government officials or CEOs of major multinational corporations” will not be removed.

The new policies and regulations that YouTube will follow reaffirms the company’s workplace culture and strict enforcement towards such delicate cases. I think the decision furthermore enforces how other media companies should similarly follow YouTube’s new direction. Given the lawsuit they faced only a few months ago, YouTube certainly seems motivated in clearing its name and avoiding any further indictments at all cost.

Warner Bros Sets Release Dates For ‘The Matrix’ Sequel, ‘The Flash’ & More; ‘Akira’ Off Schedule

Recently, Warner Bros. has set a variety of new releases to come out within the next couple of years. Highlighting the announcement is led by popular DC Universe films such as The Flash (2022) and Aquaman , but the article most notably highlights a good ole fashion box office weekend duel between a pair of surefire Keanu Reeves blockbusters.

On May 21st, 2021, Warner Bros. will be releasing both The Matrix 4 and John Wick with pure Keanu vision. The decision is interesting considering the height of each film’s release. The last Matrix film to hit theaters dates back all the way to 2003 and that comes along with bad baggage and a poor reception from both audiences and critics. Over the years, not many moviegoers have been saying, “when’s the next Matrix film going to come out?” While some die hard fans may be excited, it isn’t necessarily the most popular IP to attract viewers to the theater today given the hype around the MCU and Disney as of late.

However, Keanu Reeves has surprisingly grown an odd fascination to him from fans as the John Wick films have seemed to gradually amused audiences. The third installment nearly made more in one weekend than the second film did in its entire run in theaters and also more than 50% in the world wide box office.

There is one thing that is for sure, Warner Bros. won’t have to worry about filling in people in the theaters on May 21st. However, the financial success of the film’s individually is certainly in jeopardy. The way I see it, John Wick will win the weekend as Matrix 4 will not make as much as they’d hope. The best thing for Warner Bros. to do is simply push back Matrix 4 to a late summer release. This makes audiences excited for another Keanu film later in the season, having another weekend for himself and riding high on the hype of John Wick 4. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conducted an investigation on Verizon, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. The FCC staff ran speed and coverage tests in rural areas around the country to assess whether consumers in these areas were receiving sufficient download speeds. The FCC concluded that Verizon and T-Mobile over-exaggerated their 4G coverage maps to trick current customers as well as potential customers into believing 4G and fast downloading speeds were available in their area. Staff were unable to receive any 4G signal in 21.3% of T-Mobile’s tests and 16.2% of Verizon’s tests.

In the report the FCC said “Overstating mobile broadband coverage misleads the public and can misallocate our limited universal service funds, and thus it must be met with meaningful consequences.” They also recommended that they assemble a team to ensure the accuracy of mobile broadband maps. T-Mobile stood by its maps but said that they agree with the fact that there is room to improve their procedures and coverage maps.

The FCC will not be punishing the mobile carriers at all because they could not find a “sufficiently clear violation”. Instead, they will send out an advisory reminder to the entire industry that they could be punished for exaggerating their coverage maps. The commission also decided to drop it’s $4.5 billion Mobility Fund due to the overstated coverage maps discovered.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/5/20997700/verizon-tmobile-us-4g-cellular-coverage-map-fcc-ajit-pai-jessica-rosenworcel